Building the Ultimate Gaming System
Jun 11 '00 (Updated Nov 08 '00)
For those of you who have about 3-4 grand burning a hole in your pocket, here is the ultimate set of instructions on how to build an Ultimate Gaming System. I will give you the essential information on parts. Things like mouse, keyboard, etc may be chosen separately. First, let's go over some of the main parts:
Motherboard: This is the central point of connectivity for all of your computer's components. It may come in a variety of form factors (size and layout), number of slots and number of supported drives, allowed processor type, etc. The main things that you should be concerned with when picking out a motherboard are: (1) what kind of processor and processor speed does it support? (2) How much and what kind of RAM (Random Access Memory does it support? (3) What is its form factor (the two most popular being AT and ATX)? (4) How many and what kind of slots does it have? Currently, you want 1 AGP, 4-5 pci, and 1-2 ISA. (5) How tested is the motherboard? You most likely want one that has been proven stable with a number of device combinations.
Processor: Essentially, your gaming machine will consist of either a Pentium 3 or an Athlon processor. For $2000+, you have better be using one of the two. This is arguably the most important piece in your gaming system. Most people will tell you that all you need is a processor with a high clock count. This is correct, to an extent. However, you will want to ask these questions: (1) who makes your processor? In this day and age, the two top shooters are Intel and AMD, and I recommend getting a processor only from them. (2) How does it fit in the motherboard? This is where you first must match pieces. A motherboard with a Slot-A type will support AMD’s Athlon processors. A motherboard with a Slot-1 type will support Intel’s Pentium 3/Coppermine processors. (3) What is the clock speed of the processor? You want this to be high if you are planning on getting a stellar video card so that it [the video card] can be fed constantly. AMD now has a new line of Thunderbird processors, which I highly reccommend, that fit socket-a style motherboards.
RAM (Random Access Memory): Also referred to as memory, this is where currently used data is stored so that your processor may quickly reach it. The RAM is like a person’s short-term memory. In an Athlon processor situation, you will be using either PC-100 or PC-133 SDRAM. The 100 and 133 designate the clock speed of the ram in MHz. In a Pentium 3 situation, you can use, depending on what your motherboard supports, you will use either PC-100 SDRAM or the expensive alternative, RAMBUS. RAMBUS/RDRAM is very expensive for the performance boost it gives you. If you are using a P3 system and have extra money, go for it. If not, don't bothor. You may not noitce the difference. For your ultimate gaming system, you will want AT LEAST 128MB of RAM.
Hard Drive: A hard drive provides your computer with relatively quick access to large amounts of data. Today’s hard drives are usually measured in gigabytes. For your system, you want at least either a 13+ gigabyte 7200 RPM IDE drive, or a 10,000 RPM SCSI drive. The SCSI drive usually requires a separate SCSI card, unless there is an SCSI controller on your mainboard/motherboard.
Video Card: The video card controls everything that is displayed on your monitor. The pricier cards will often come with TV-Outs and other doodads, but for a gamer, these are usually useless. The most important parts are what graphics processor it uses and how much memory it has. The current high end cards include Nvidia’s GeForce/Geforce2 GTS and 3dfx’s Voodoo5 5500. the GeForce usually comes with 32mb memory, and the Voodoo5 5500 comes with 64mb. This does not make it a better card, however. This is because the architecture of the card allows only 32mb to be used at a time.
Sound Card: This piece of hardware will control everything that you hear from desktop sounds to explosions in amazing 3d shooters. You will want a sound card that has its own audio processor (ex EMU10K1). This will take a load of work off your processor. You may want a card that has 4 speaker output or a single digital output. Make sure that the card is PCI-based and has been tested for stability, compatibility, and performance.
Monitor: This is where everything is displayed to you. If you have a lot of desk space, you might want to go with a 19-inch monitor. No matter how big of a monitor you choose, make sure it supports at least resolutions of 1280x1024.
Ok now down to the building business. Follow this guide for my personal recommendations for parts.
START HERE for AMD Athlon 800 MHz-1000 MHz (less expensive than P3)---Motherboard: Asus K7V or K7V-RM---RAM: 256MB PC-133 SDRAM---Hard Drive: Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 40GB 7200RPM Ultra 66 EIDE---Video Card: (note Athlon systems may be unstable with GeForce) Creative Labs 3D Annihilator Pro---Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live!---Monitor: 19” Optiquest Q95.
START HERE for Pentium3 800 MHz-1000MHz---Motherboard: Asus P3C-E---RAM: 256MB PC800 RDRAM---Hard Drive: Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 40GB 7200 RPM Ultra 66 EIDE---Video Card: Creative Labs 3D Annihilator Pro---Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live!---Monitor: 19” Optiquest Q95.
Remaining parts (ex. CDROM drive, speakers, mouse, keyboard) are preference items based on usage. I hope that this helped you out and has given you a better idea on the computing market.
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